Leading real hands on tech review site in Ireland with technology, business news and more. Jim O Brien Tech.
Author: Jim O Brien/CEO
CEO and expert in transport and Mobile tech. A fan 20 years, mobile consultant, Nokia Mobile expert, Former Nokia/Microsoft VIP,Multiple forum tech supporter with worldwide top ranking,Working in the background on mobile technology, Weekly radio show, Featured on the RTE consumer show, Cavan TV and on TRT WORLD. Award winning Technology reviewer and blogger. Security and logisitcs Professional.
Verizon Connect has introduced Engine Connect, a powerful tool developed specifically for the special needs of light commercial vehicles, that collects critical data directly from a vehicle’s engine to help monitor for potential vehicles issues, helping prevent mechanical problems and maximize vehicle uptime.
“Engine Connect gives fleet managers a complete view of their vehicles performance, enabling them to identify potential vehicles’ issues before they become costly,” said Derek Bryan, Vice President, EMEA at Verizon Connect. “With a better understanding of vehicle performance, we can help customers save time and money in the future and provide them with peace of mind knowing their vehicles are running optimally.”
Engine Connect analyzes critical data directly from a vehicle’s engine including fuel usage, distance travelled and diagnostics to help track and respond to vehicles in distress. By combining data with GPS location, customers are able to get a complete view of vehicle performance.
Engine Connect can help customers identify driver behavior that is linked to fuel costs. Notable features include the ability to:
Keep VIN records up-to-date
Capture accurate odometer readings to see how many miles drivers have traveled
Automatically receive diagnostic trouble code (DTC) alerts when problems are detected
Identify speeding events to help coach drivers and track engine status to see how long an engine has been running or idling to stay on top of maintenance
Dell has today announced that its technology is empowering classroom creativity at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) with students enabled to create graphic-intensive Virtual Reality (VR) projects and lecturers gaining more teaching time.
As CIT sought to harness the opportunities of the world of VR for its creative digital media students, it experienced a number of performance-related barriers. Outdated workstations and supporting infrastructure were hindering the third-level institute from rolling out new modules on gaming, VR, animation and application design.
To overcome these challenges and become a leader in VR design education, CIT undertook a programme to update their design labs and selected Dell as its trusted partner. Through the provision of the latest Dell workstations, Alienware gaming desktops and ProSupport Plus, students at CIT now have the tools to harness the power of VR to accelerate their cutting-edge multimedia careers.
In giving students access to emerging technologies, CIT is responding to a growing desire amongst Generation Z, or those born after 1996, 80% of whom want to work with cutting-edge technology in their future career. CIT sought to develop courses that challenge these students and equip them with vital industry skills.
Rose McGrath, Head of Media Communications in CIT said: “As a third level institute that has trained Ireland’s leading artists for the last 100 years, CIT CCAD has prided itself on fostering an innovative learning environment that best positions our students for the workplace of the future.
“However, in recent times outdated technology has meant we have been unable to meet the needs of students and teachers who increasingly undertake intensive VR projects as part of their digital media and e-learning curriculum.
“Our partnership with Dell has proved pivotal in enabling our students to be more creative and use VR to push the boundaries of what they can do with graphics. Without the improved performance from the Dell workstations and Alienware gaming desktops, we wouldn’t have been able to regain 40 minutes of classroom instruction time every day.”
In marking today’s news, Aisling Keegan, Vice-President and General Manager of Dell EMC Ireland, said: “At Dell, we are committed to preparing the future workforce by using the latest technology to spark creativity within the classroom. With 90% of tomorrow’s jobs requiring digital skills, third-level institutions in Ireland must have the tools at their disposal to drive digital transformation.
“By leveraging our latest portfolio of devices, Dell has empowered a creative and immersive teaching environment that is producing impressive academic results. Students have used our devices to create projects ranging from therapeutic activity–based video games to assist patients with Parkinson’s disease, to a VR immersive programme that helps prepare individuals in prison for release.
“CIT should be commended for its leadership in digital transformation. This is an example of third level institutions looking to opportunities unlocked by emerging technologies to prepare the workers of the future. By forging an ambitious strategy for change and embracing technology to make that strategy a reality, Dell and CIT can enhance learning experiences and improve student outcomes both now and into the future.”
Google today named the fifteen beneficiaries of its €1million Google.org Impact Challenge Dublin, with each receiving €50,000 in grants to bring their ideas to life. Launched last November, the Google.org Impact Challenge Dublin invited nonprofits, social enterprises, and educators throughout Dublin to submit proposals for bold ideas to grow economic and social opportunities in their local communities.
Pictured are some of the judges participating in the Google.org Dublin Impact Challenge: Stuart McLoughlin, Senior Regional Manager, Google.org EMEA; Fionnuala Meehan, Vice President and head of Google in Ireland; Dublin GAA legend, Bernard Brogan; Dolores Wilson from St Andrews Resource Centre, Pearse Street, Dublin 2; Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Nial Ring; Mary Rose Burke, CEO of Dublin Chamber. Picture Conor McCabe.
Of the fifteen recipients announced today, five are in line to receive an additional €50,000 of funding, bringing their total grants to €100,000 each. Four of these will be selected by Google’s esteemed panel of judges, with the fifth open to a public vote. Voting is open for one week from Tuesday 19th to Tuesday 26th of March at http://g.co/dublinchallenge. The five projects to receive additional bursaries will be announced at a celebratory event on the evening of Thursday 4th April and is funded by Google’s philanthropic arm, Google.org.
Fionnuala Meehan, Head of Google Ireland commented, “We were blown away by the quantity and quality of the entries received. Over our 15 years here in Ireland we’ve supported many local projects but this is our biggest drive yet to support the community initiatives in the city we call home. The diversity and ambition of the submissions were very impressive, with small local initiatives through to more established charities all submitting entries.
“Choosing the final fifteen was not an easy task. Our aim was to tap into innovation across the city to support great ideas to build stronger communities, and the list of finalists represents a broad spectrum of charities and community initiatives across Dublin, with mental health, education, employment, support services, and more represented. I really hope that the Google.org Dublin Impact Challenge goes some way to assisting these great projects in achieving their goals, and I look forward to announcing the additional five bursaries in April.”
Pictured are some of the judges participating in the Google.org Dublin Impact Challenge: Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Nial Ring; Dublin GAA legend, Bernard Brogan; Mary Rose Burke, CEO of Dublin Chamber. Picture Conor McCabe Photography.
The Google.org Impact Challenge Dublin has been immensely popular with over 150 entries received by groups from all areas of the city covering a wide spectrum of initiatives. The public has been given the opportunity to double the funding of one of the winners by way of a “People’s Choice Award”, with voting now open at http://g.co/dublinchallenge for one week only (closes Tuesday 26th March).
The fifteen finalists are:
A Lust for Life
A Lust for Life is creating a new, innovative platform to share creative mental health content
An Cosán Virtual Community College
An Cosán is harnessing the power of technology to grow and innovate community education
Citywise Education
Fast Track Academy is providing educational support to young people in underserved communities
Down Syndrome Ireland
Down Syndrome Ireland is helping adults with Down syndrome to secure meaningful paid employment
Dublin Rape Crisis Centre
The DRCC is removing barriers to accessing support for those who have experienced sexual violence
Irish Females in Technology (I-FITs)
I-FITs is a Tech Apprenticeship Programme for unemployed females from Dublin’s ‘Silicon Docks’ area
GiveBack.ie
GiveBack.ie is technology that empowers individuals to break the cycle of homelessness
THEATREclub
THEATREclub wants to affect a shift in Dubliners’ view of addiction using audience activist groups
Irish Youth Foundation
‘Next Step’ is supporting students in the transition from primary to secondary level school
Music Generation Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown
Infinite Music is a music performance programme for young people with special educational needs
Peter McVerry Trust
Peter McVerry Trust is establishing a culinary training program for people experiencing homelessness
Senior Line
SeniorLine is offering peer-to-peer IT education and drop-in facility for older people
Dublin City Farm and Ecology Centre
St. Anne’s City Farm is a sustainable farm that promotes education and multiculturalism
Teen-Turn
Teen-Turn is changing how girls from underrepresented communities identify with STEM careers
Young Social Innovators
YSI is empowering Ireland’s most disadvantaged youth to address local issues using robotics and STEM
The Google.org Dublin Impact Challenge judging panel includes the following members:
Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Nial Ring; Senator Lynn Ruane; CEO of Dublin Chamber, Mary Rose Burke; Dublin GAA legend, Bernard Brogan; Journalist, Roisin Ingle; Business In The Community CEO, Tomás Sercovich; and Head of Google Ireland, Fionnuala Meehan.
We have teamed up with Gearbest this time round and have more tech reviews coming soon from Gearbest so stay tuned for more soon on tech that’s made affordable. I have covered many earbuds of late including wireless ones and one thing that is getting better each time is the cost to performance ratio and it means good tech at good prices for the consumer.
These come in a nice presentation and sport not only a charge box that offers hours of use but they come with a USB key type fob to charge your earbuds individually too which is something I have not seen before considering the amount of earbuds I have in my collection or tested.
These Alphawise earbuds also look good and are really comfortable which is important for users and will not fall out either if jogging or going to the gym for example.They come in either Black or White but perhaps more colours might come along in time which would be a nice idea rather than the traditionals we see. Asides that how they sound at the price they come in at is quite good and not expected even from me..
The pairing process is simple , Once turned on find the buds on your phone, see video below and pair up.. You can use one bud as a mains or use one at a time depending on your needs, They have a simple one,two-three tap function like most do but have no companion app which is my only real gripe with them.
You can also use your digital assistant with these too which is handy for those who use them and also an handy feature is call your last number you dialled or received from your phone so this is a handy speed dial option for that important contact in your phone book or should you wish to communicate with..
The sound experience is quite good at this pricepoint it has to be said and I was certainly impressed at all genres and sound stages here with highs,lows,mids and even some nice bass,they are well balanced but if they had a companion app they could be even better.
One other niggle aside the app I would say is that calls only come in one the one ear, you can pick between left or right to choose the main earbud,Again this is a small nit picking but for some they prefer both sides to be operational here but it is no issue for me as clarity is good and calls are crisp and clear.
Really for the money you are getting a good product here which is on par with much more expensive true wireless earbuds which for the consumer is great and if you have around €30 to buy a new pair or even a spare set these are one to consider.
Main Features:
● Mono mode and stereo mode, auto shutdown and charging
● Dynamic driver with the moving coil for crystal-clear and more powerful sound
● Bluetooth 4.2 / 5.0, stereo sound, auto pairing after power up. Faster, more stable, and power-saving
● Innovative touch control for playing songs, handling calls, adjusting the volume
● 500mAh charging box / storage case for easy carrying and 4 charging times wherever you are
● IPX5 waterproof, ergonomic, lightweight, comfortable for the ears
I am on a bit of a fitness buzz of late,well when I say that I take things in moderation but cutting down and have the few drinks on the weekend but in general I would drink once a week anyway depending on social plans etc. Snacking on bars of chocolate though is my problem and now trying to cut down on this. You might say so what Jim but when you have tools to help,motivate you and notify you you then begin to see results you might understand until you try it you wont..
I am currently using the Withings Body+ WiFi scales and Hybrid Multisport smartwatch and the two combined together really help and motivate you, OK i will rant a bit and say the notifications can be a bit much at times but you can tone them down yourself and keep at it with a daily chart of weigh-ins and then a weekly score of how you get on you will see the results and perhaps the constant messages are there to keep you interested as some folk start out plans and give up after two or three weeks but those messages will keep ringing in your head reminding you and when you see your goals stack up it can only but motivate you, Even down to the steps you take a day has now become a mission for me but sometimes I am limited due to work and so on but I still try.
Pastel Sand
Pastel Green
The Scales is a great place to start as it can be placed in your bedroom or bathroom and you will not forget its there and you will get into the habit of getting on it and wait for the results to scroll across the decent sized screen with nice graphs even though they are simple looking they are easy to read and tailored to how you have things set up. With both the watch and scales they both work great together and never miss a beat and sync well all the time, I have had no issues to date yet and they are fairly accurate as I am also testing other products here and both seem to weigh up with each other all the time.
The scales we have is one of their new colours and suit us Irish folk down to a tee with a pastel green,it looks really nice and is robust. I have seen many scales hit the shelves of late even in cheap euro type shops starting at 20 euro but they are utter junk,made of plastic and offer no other functions than weight but they are pushed as fitness type gadgets which they clearly aint.
The Body+ Wi-Fi scales is really robust with glass atop and its thick so will not crack or smash if you knock it about or happen to bang a door off it which I did once. Its sat on 4 pods and fits nicely in any corner. The best way to use the scales would be with bare feet, no trainers or slippers on as it can give you a false reading otherwise, socks is fine for just body weight but for more results naked feet is the way to go, it can be cold sometimes but just get over it..
The app is great and pairing up both your watch and scales takes a few minutes including set up and you are good to go, You will then enter in some information and try be as accurate as you can when doing so to yield the correct data later on and during your regime.
The Body+ Scales as seen in video above can monitor more than just your weight and is priced very well and certainly one of the better looking options out there at its price point and offers more, This scales also gives you a glance at the weather which is cool. You can also assign more people (up to 8) to use the scales which is great for family I used this one exclusively on my own as I have another version here for the family to use and I wanted to check the data sync and so on based on my usage alone as I tend to be the most keen here in the house of late of some fitness. I will go into the health mate app in a separate video below.
One thing that annoys me and why sales really explain themselves is the cost of a companion device which can be as expensive as mid to high end phones which is me is a no go, Ok I own a few but I don’t purchase such anymore as I find them bulky and cumbersome and the battery life is the big caveat here on most. Again this varies per person and their needs but something simplistic is all you really need being into fitness. The Withings Multisport hybrid does all you could want yet looks current and comes in several colours and multiple straps to boot. They don’t cost an arm or a leg either and look great and stylish.
Given many smartwatches have a proprietary charger this is also a caveat for most,the same applies here but you can forgive it on how long one charge lasts which is up to 25 days which is not seen on a typical smartwatch, This offers plenty here if you are into fitness in an easy to read circular display up top. To get your stats you just press one button on the left and what you have assigned will come through and the same applies for apps too which is excellent. I just used my watch for fitness related material and nothing else as I get enough through my phone and getting notified twice is more than enough, however this is useful for driving and you can select between what apps you want to hear from via the app which I have gone through in the video.
One thing I would change is the tips on the end of the hands as some have asked can you see the watch in the dark but then again you have the panel up top to give you the time and date etc so this could be a reason why the tips on the hands have no luminous coating but it would be a nice addition to have it for those whom don’t want to be giving an extra press of a button, Other than that this has worked flawlessly and always reconnects back to my phone if I leave it behind or go out of distance every time. In short we are creatures of habit and getting into a habit might be hard and getting into a habit as simple as stepping on a scales a few times a day is not a bad one and a step in the right direction. With this scales and help from the app and if you’ve the watch they are a perfect partner in crime to get you motivated.
Wedding planning can seem overwhelming, but the right tools and technology can make a world of difference. The past few years have seen the release of hundreds of apps designed to help brides and grooms to-be stay on top of their wedding preparations. But with so many to choose from, how can you find the best app for you? Fortunately, the team at Valentina Fine Diamonds have put together a helpful infographic guide which lists out the nine best apps to make wedding planning easy in 2019.
Stay on Top of Your To-Do List
One of the major benefits of using an app is that it can help you to stay organised by keeping all of your to-dos in one centralised location. What’s more, push notifications ensure that you won’t forget any important jobs or deadlines. For those who don’t know where to start, LadyMarry is a good choice as it auto-generates a customised checklist based on the date and location of your wedding. We also like the WeddingHappy app which creates a personalised schedule with suggested due dates for each item on your to-do list.
Manage Your Wedding Expenses With Ease
Weddings are made up of a lot of moving parts and as such it’s important to keep a close eye on your expenses to stop costs from spiralling out of control. We recommend setting up a collaborative budget spreadsheet on Google Sheets or Mint so you can monitor all your incomings and outgoings. If you need help working out a budget breakdown, we recommend using heWedding Planner appby The Knot which can automate a breakdown of costs based on your overall budget.
VRTL has launched its course platform to help video professionals and filmmakers as well as virtual reality enthusiasts around the globe learn about VR.
A brand-new field, virtual reality is starting to take off. Last year saw a production (Spheres) command a seven-figure deal for the first time. Hollywood A-listers are starting to dabble in VR, including Alejandro G. Iñárritu who won an Oscar for the virtual reality project Carne y Arena in 2018.
While there are still milestones to overcome, VR/AR is on the verge of going mainstream with the convergence of the smartphone, mobile VR headset and AR glasses into a single XR wearable. This will necessitate significant and meaningful VR content and the talent to produce it.
With few schools offering instruction in the new medium, VRTL steps up to the plate with courses designed to help those curious about VR or those wanting to make the transition from video or traditional filmmaking.
VRTL is a both an online editorial magazine and education platform. The Academy offers several types of courses ranging from introductory to hands-on skill courses, all led by accomplished professionals and/or award-winning creators. The Magazine runs stories, profiles and interviews with international makers & creators and hosts podcasts with top leaders in the industry, such as Nicolás Alcalá, Liz Rosenthal, Canaan Rubin, to name a few.
Magazine articles and podcasts are free and the Academy uses a pay-per-course model with special plans for schools & large corporations.
VRTL is a new venture of yondr, an immersive media agency from Beveren, Belgium founded by Dave Roox, Mathias Van Dosselaer, and Pieter Van Leugenhagen. Yondr has been a VR pioneer since 2014 and the Academy was built as an internal onboarding tool to develop VR skills currently lacking in the marketplace.
After discussions at more than 20 global events, colleagues and competitors from media, entertainment and advertising showed interest in yondr’s concept for knowledge development. VRTL was then conceived as a full-fledged brand, with a separate user experience and business model to meet the industry need.
Co-Founder Dave Roox says, “We want to help VR creators not make the same mistakes we did. By providing guidance from the best, accomplished professionals on storytelling, technique and workflow, we hope to prepare VR makers the world over in this exciting new medium.”
“The market will continue to expand,” believes Co-Founder Pieter Van Leugenhagen, “with standalone VR headsets like Oculus Quest offering more freedom and generating more interest in the creative possibilities.” The need for expertise in how to transfer skills from the traditional video to VR/360 will grow, too. “VRTL will help with high-quality content and a great look and feel that is both affordable and easily accessible.”
Van Leugenhagen is at SXSW in Austin, Texas to launch VRTL during the virtual reality section of the film track at the world’s largest innovation festival.
Available today, the app Joinful is a platform to allow users to meet new people through doing activities together. As adults, it becomes increasingly difficult to meet new friends, especially if you’re new to a city, travelling alone, if your friends have moved away or have children, or if you don’t get along with your colleagues / work at home. This is especially true today as we become attached to our smartphones, making the world feeling more isolated and alone than ever. With Joinful, they want to make the world feeling more connected by connecting people who want to do the same activities, whether it’s grabbing a coffee together, finding others who want to play the same sport, yoga, practising a language skill and more!
Users on the platform can begin finding activities hosted by other users by either typing a city name to find activities within that city, or by pressing the “target” icon on the top right to instantly find all activities in user’s current city. You can also filter the search results as well. With each activity, you can see the start and end dates and times, max. number of persons who can join and number of people who have already joined, the meeting location, the activity details and more.
Users may also host their own activities. Simply input the activity details and upload a picture and your activity will be displayed. As of today, only users who’s phone numbers have a United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, or Singapore country code can host activities.
How Joinful can help you meet new friends:
We cap each activity to 20 persons max. to replicate the feeling of a friendship group. It can become intimidating to meet people at a large event, and one to ones may create awkward situations and no-shows. By meeting people in a group, not only would it be safer, but you get to meet more people at once.
To ensure quality and trustworthiness of activities, hosts can be rated by users after each activity.
Our platform is activity-focused rather than profile-focused, meaning no more dying conversations online, no more “judging profiles”, and more serendipity moments with people who share common interests and experiences and actually getting people together in real life.
Know when your friends have hosted or joined activities with our friends’ calendar, know when participants have joined your hosted activity with our notifications, and more.
Joinful is now available for free worldwide and is currently available only in English on the Apple App Store. Visit www.joinful.com
Google released its annual Trust and Safety in Ads Report, where the company shares key actions and data around its efforts to keep the digital advertising ecosystem safe.
The full blog post, “Enabling a safe digital advertising ecosystem” by Scott Spencer, Google Director of Sustainable Ads, can be accessed here.
Key takeaways from the report are that Google….
· Introduced 31 new ads policies in 2018
· Took down 2.3 billion bad ads. Overall, that’s more than six million bad ads, every day.
· Took down nearly 207,000 ads for ticket resellers
· Took down over 531,000 ads for bail bonds
· Took down approximately 58.8 million phishing ads (NOTE: many of these ads were blocked before ever serving)
· Used improved machine learning technology to identify and terminate almost one million bad advertiser accounts, nearly double the amount Google terminated in 2017
· Launched 330 detection classifiers to help us better detect “badness” at page level– nearly three times the number of classifiers Google launched in 2017
· Removed nearly 734,000 publishers and app developers from the Google ad network.
· Removed ads completely from nearly 1.5 million apps.
· Removed ads from nearly 28 million pages for violating the publisher policies.
· Verified nearly 143,000 election ads in the U.S.
· Removed ads from almost 74,000 pages for violating Google’s policy on “dangerous or derogatory” content
· Took down approximately 190,000 ads for violating Google’s dangerous or derogatory policy.
Google also continued to tackle the challenge of misinformation and low-quality sites, using several different policies to ensure that Google ads are supporting legitimate, high-quality publishers. In 2018, the company removed ads from 1.2 million pages, more than 22,000 apps, and nearly 15,000 sites across the ad network for violations of policies directed at misrepresentative, hateful, or other low-quality content.
